The 10 Weirdest Sports Ever Shown on TV

Welcome to TV Week on StyleCaster! Throughout the next seven days, we’ll be bringing you compelling content about one of our favorite things in the world: Television. Look out for new shows to watch, character roundups, fun facts, personal essays, and lots more. Why? Because we’re just as obsessed as you.

If you’ve ever been at the gym at an off time—say, Sunday around two in the afternoon or really late on a weeknight—you probably know that there’s some really weird stuff on television. It could be anything from an entire comedy show built around watching viral YouTube clips (we’re looking at you, Daniel Tosh) to sporting events so bizarre you can hardly believe they exist.

In honor of TV week, the latter is what we’re choosing to hone our spotlight on. From actual, real-life Scrabble tournaments to something called “springboarding,” what follows is a list of the 10 weirdest sports on television. And yet, if you’re ever able to catch them, they are impossible to tear your eyes away from; they are nothing short of downright entertaining. Read on!

This might actually be the most insane sport of all time. While it seems to require minimal physical prowess in terms of athleticism, the skill required to successfully accomplish these tricks is just astounding. Watch the clip above and tell us if you don’t agree!

2. Springboarding

This is a sport that demands its participants use an ax to chop wedges into a totem pole; they then insert pieces of wood into the wedges to create springboards. They then climb onto the springboards, from which they have to chop and create the next wedge. Whoever gets to the top first, wins. What even?

3. Underwater Boxing

Underwater boxing doesn’t seem to be an event that happens on a regular basis, but it has happened. And it will happen again.

These intense competitions can last for hours on end, with the world’s best Scrabble players focusing their every ounce of energy on choosing the right combination of letters to get them the most points.

The National Hot Dog-Eating Contest happens every July 4th at New York’s Coney Island, and regularly draws some of the world’s most ferocious eating competitors. In 2013, Joey Chestnut ate 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes, setting the new world record.

6. Outdoor Bowling

For the ladies’ national championship bowling match in 2012, the finals were set up outdoors in the middle of the street. Which just begs the question: Why isn’t bowling outside all the time?

7. Miniature Golf

What for most of us is considered a happy memory from our childhood, for some grown people is a very serious sport. There are professionals who deem themselves masters, just like in regular golf! They have national championships just like in regular golf. But unlike regular golf, thre are cool things like waterfalls and windmills to avoid.

In other parts of the world, dog shows aren’t just events were canines are evaluated on the strength of their appearance, gate, and bone structure. They actually do tricks! There’s an annual fair in Western Germany that asks competitors to prove their dogs can catch frisbees, complete long jumps, and a number of other exciting exercises.

9. Board-Breaking

Anyone who’s seen “Karate Kid” knows how impressive board-breaking is. But there are people who do it in real-life, and it’s one of the most impressive things you can watch. In 2008, Leif Beckers broke the world record by breaking 487 boards in one minute with one hand.

10. The World’s Strongest Man Competition

Held every year in August, the World’s Strongest Man Competition is comprised of men doing ridiculous things with their bodies, including pulling semi-tractor trailers with chains, lifting hundreds of pounds with one hand, carrying barrels on their back, and more.